intermittent fasting over 40. The complete guide for a younger feeling you.

It can be a little different due to a change in your hormones and enzymes that you do not realize right away. If you have been trying to lose weight and you are 40 or older, you probably already know that it is not as easy as it once been.

You might look at a younger person let’s say in their 20s or early 30s and see them have dramatic results while fasting, but yet you struggle to have any results.

The purpose of this article is to help you try to make the right adjustments if you are over the age of 40 to help you fasting results.

I am currently 40 years of age and have been fasting for 2 years now. I have been seeing fewer results in the last 5 or 6 months and have been wondering if I should be doing something different and why. I did some research and this is what I found.

What to eat while fasting?

Increase your sodium level, especially over 40. Because when you get older the nervous system is not what is once been. Consume more sodium to boost those electrolytes to help the nervous system firing off those electrical signals.

If you feel fatigue and stiff you would want to have more sodium. Don’t worry too much about raising your blood pressure levels. These healthy minerals will just help you stay focused and energized.

1 teaspoon per 1/2 gallon of water should do the trick.

Just make sure you are getting good quality sodium like these listed here:

How often and how long should you fast?

People whom are younger can get away with fasting more frequently. The 16-8 fasting period 7 days a week is the best one for the young guns.

As you get older you get more benefits by fasting longer. Maybe doing a 20-hour fast 3 to 4 times a week.

The reason for this are:

* The Telomere response: The longer the fast the more anti-aging effect you are going to get. People in their 20s don’t need that much of an anti-aging effect. By anti-aging I mean on the cellular level, not only appearance wise. By restoring the Telomere length we have more stem cells, which hopefully makes us live longer and fight of disease longer.

* Body composition: If you try to fast every single day when you are older, you can actually slow down your metabolism. To prevent this, do a yo yo fast. This is when you have a normal calorie day, and the next day you do a 20-hour fast while trying to keep your calories below the before. So fasting every other day is the way to go.

* Human Growth Hormone (HGH): By fasting for 20 hours and beyond you raise your HGH significantly, which is going to make your skin look younger, allowing you to build muscle, recover faster and just making you feel younger overall.

Go for the more metabolic benefits than just the caloric restrictions.

The Best time for coffee or tea.

When you have your coffee or tea, try to have it in the morning.

As you get older you get already have a higher level of adrenaline, by consuming coffee or tea during the day you are going to raise these adrenaline levels so high all day long, that you are going to burn out your adrenals.

By doing this you can get adrenal fatigue which in turn can have very negative effects down the road and become chronically tired.

You are also more susceptible for burning fat in the morning, and by having your caffeine in the morning only will help you prevent adrenal fatigue and boost you fat burning.

Which supplements should you take on your fast?

Keep supplements out of the equation while you are fasting. Especially anti-oxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E and Fish oil. These are great supplements, but not on a fast because they negate the effects of a fast.

When you are fasting you are stressing your body out, this is a good thing on a fast. If you take these supplements it will hurt the metabolic effect. You would be helping the body cope with the effects of the fast and therefore these will act like helpers for the body and will in turn not trigger things like autophagy.

A recommended supplement for males to help give you more free testosterone is Boron. This will help raise your libido, energy levels, strength and build muscle mass.
Another great supplement for men and women is Saw Palmetto. This helps with preventing enlargement of the prostate. This is not only a male supplement but also females can benefit from this. It can reduce hair loss in females.
CQ-10 is great when your are fasting, just do not take it while you are fasting. CQ-10 has everything to do with energy, especially over the age of 40 and fasting. CQ-10 helps take the electrons from food to where they need to be efficiently within the body.

Working out while fasted.

Are you worried of burning out by working out while fasted? Don’t be. If you are just starting out with working out or fasting. I would start with one or the other first. I would start with working out for about 2 months so that your body can get used to working out regularly.

Exercising while fasted can help you build more muscle and lose more body fat because of the elevated HGH levels. By working out fasted you can also get away with working out on a lower intensity and have the same results as working out harder while not fasting.

I do not workout as hard as I use to anymore, just because I do want to preserve my body for the log haul.

How to break a fast?

You should break your fast with a small meal high in protein like a piece of steak or lean chicken breast.

By breaking your fast with a small meal 1 hour before your regular meal you will prevent eating everything in sight. At the end of a fast you are emotionally ready to raid the fridge. You have been anticipating eating for many hours now and just want to stuff yourself, I’ve been there.

Eat a high quality lean meat equivalent to 25% of your body weight when first breaking your fast. So if you weight 100 pounds, eat 125 grams of protein of lean meat.

Try to do not break your fast with grains like rice, barley, corn etc.

Also try to switch your protein sources to help feed the different bacteria in your gut.

Pay close attention to pre-biotic fibers.

When you go through a long fast period a lot of your gut bacteria dies off. The stronger bacteria are the ones that survive and in order to feed those we have to eat more pre-biotic veggies.

This why eating things like: Asparagus, Artichoke and other pre-biotic veggies. These are great for the second meal. These also promote bile salts within the body to help breakdown fats.

Conclusion.

As you can read, fasting is a great tool to help you stay young, feel energized and lose weight in the process.

If you are new to fasting, it will take time to get use to it. If you are on the keto diet this will become way easier.

Just think of all the benefits that you will be getting from fasting and have the right mindset.

I hope that this article has helped you and if you have any questions leave them in the comment section and I will get back to you.